Revenge Paid in Full
by Hope10032
Summary: 1 year after the brain-jacking incident, everybody was doing fine. It was as quiet and calm as ever. Until Ban began acting up. Jin Kaidou was the only one who could bring Ban back to his senses, but is being pushed away. Will Jin be able to figure all of this out on his own? Contains OC and possible OOCness.
1. Chapter 1

**Revenge Paid in Full**

 **Howdy! I'm Hope10032 and I am ready to bring you my latest story! This will contain a few OCs because I feel like it, and I might make the canon people a bit OOC, so I apologize in advance. I began writing this some time back and have finally decided to post it. I will be using the Japanese anime names as best as I can.**

 **I know I haven't finished up with my Digimon story, Memories Out of Reach, but this was just floating around on my computer so I decided to polish it up a bit before I submit it. There seems to be a severe lack of stories in this category, which just so happens to be one of my favorite animes.**

 **Without further adieu, I present to thee, Revenge Paid in Full!**

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not under any circumstances own Danburo Senki/Danball Senki/LBX (whatever you want to call it)**_

Chapter 1: Confrontation

It was late at night when Ban Yamano stormed out of Seekers headquarters. Jin Kaidou followed shortly after.

"Ban! What was that about? You literally explode at me every possible second, and you're not much better around the others," he questioned his friend and rival.

It had been one year after the events of the brain-jacking incident, and things had finally started to calm down. The Seekers were still in operation, in case new threats arise, and the gang had stayed together. Even Jessica had decided to stay with Ami so she could stay connected with the others. Nothing out of the ordinary had occurred, so it had been relatively peaceful for the group of friends.

That is, until Ban started acting up.

Over the past week, Ban's patience has begun to run short and his temper bitter. Towards Jin, mostly. It started off with him being more moody than normal, then grew to him snapping at his friend at random moments. Now it has come to the point of him yelling at Jin, even if the boy hadn't spoken a word.

"Why do you care?! Can't you take a hint!" Ban retorted. Jin gave him a long look before taking a deep breath.

"Maybe not, but I might understand if you just tell me what's wrong. Please, I only want to help."

"Why would you want to help me?!" Ban shot back.

"I don't need a reason to help you, Ban. You're one of my closest friends, and I only want to make sure that there's nothing wrong." Jin said softly. After Jin had decided to stay instead of heading back to Country A to continue his studies, he and Ban had grown much closer as friends.

"I don't want, nor need your help and I definitely don't want your stupid friendship!" Ban snarled angrily. _'Wait, why did I just say that?! That wasn't true!'_ he thought. But the words were already out there in the open for all to see.

Jin had a hurt look in his eyes, with his mouth agape. Ban had been the first person to accept him after he had worked for his grandfather, the infamous Yoshimitsu Kaidou. His face hardened to one of determination.

"I don't believe that for a second. The Ban I know would never say anything like that to anyone. Friend or otherwise. We've been through thick and thin, fought side by side, and have achieved the impossible. Doesn't that mean anything to you anymore?" Jin narrowed his eyes. "Ban, you were the one to open my eyes to what was really going on around me. If it comes down to it, I'd like to return the favor."

Ban snorted.

"Yeah, well don't flatter yourself. As if I'd save worthless enemy on purpose. You need to get your head out of the clouds, hop off your high horse, and accept the fact that I don't care what happens to you. You never were my friend and never will be. You can't possibly believe that any of us actually forgive you for the things you've done. We've never liked nor trusted you, and never will! You never were much of a rival, mostly because you're useless and weak." Ban spat.

"I refuse to listen to that Ban!" Jin roared. "I don't know what happened to you, but you aren't yourself. The Ban I know cares about everyone and everything. You are the one who needs to come off your high horse, and come to your senses!"

"Maybe you should just leave. Go back to your precious Country A for all I care! I don't need you here, nor do I want you here. Just go away and leave me alone!" Ban yelled, a crazed look in his eyes.

Jin was silent for a moment, until he said quietly, "Ban, for your own sake, I hope you get your head back where it should be, but if you truly, honestly wish it, I will leave. But only if you, the real you, is sure."

 _'No! I don't want you to go back! You really are my friend! I didn't mean those things!'_ Ban inwardly cried. But since he couldn't say this out loud, Jin, of course, didn't hear it. The response was immediately out of his mouth.

"Yes! I'm positive! Take a hint and just leave! When you're gone, we might actually get some real work done, without having to suffer your stupid, incompetent company. It's not my job to babysit a pathetic orphan boy!"

That last comment struck Jin hard. His parents had died many years ago, but it was still a sore subject. He nodded stiffly and walked back inside. He was crestfallen at the words a boy he had come to respect had spoken to him.

When Ban was all alone, he finally had his freedom to say what he wanted. He broke down and cried right where he had been standing when he was badmouthing his friend.

"Why?! Why did I say those things?! None of it was true! Now one of my best friends is leaving and might not come back, all because of me!" Ban sobbed. He didn't know what had come over him, but lately he hadn't had control over what he said around Jin. It was like, he took the backseat in his own consciousness whenever he was confronted by his best friend and rival.

Now he was driving that friend away from him, when he needed his help the most.

 _-Inside-_

"What happened out there? We heard yelling and were worried," Yuuya asked Jin as soon as he came back. The rest of the group had been told to stay put, while Jin had slipped away to confront Ban himself.

"Ban isn't acting himself, and has ordered me to leave. I'm packing up tonight and heading back to Country A in the morning," Jin answered. Yuuya stared at him in shock. He finally managed to stutter out;

"B-but why? We need you here! You can't just head back!"

"Can and will," Jin retorted in reply. His expression softened when he looked Yuuya in the eye. "I asked him if he was positively sure that he wanted me gone, and he affirmed with absolutely no hesitation. As his friend, I will respect his decision and carry through on my part. While I'm gone, I need you to make sure everything's running smoothly and make sure that Ban doesn't do anything stupid."

"You mean besides chasing you away in the first place?" Yuuya asked sarcastically. Jin chuckled lightly.

"Yes, besides that. Please tell the others of Ban and I's decision. Oh, but," Jin added before Yuuya left, "tell them that I don't know when, or if I'll return, but between the two of us, I intend to return and figure out what exactly is happening to Ban. Don't tell the others about my suspicions just yet. I want to come to a solid conclusion and don't want to cause unnecessary panic. I need you to keep an eye on Ban and report any other strange behavior back to me."

Yuuya nodded wordlessly.

 _The next day_

"Are you sure about this?" Yuuya asked hesitantly. He still wasn't sure if he was the right one for the job that Jin had given to him, even after he had informed the others of what had happened, minus Jin's suspicions, of course.

Everyone had come to wish Jin off, excluding Ban. Jessica and Ami had tears in their eyes, Asuka's were trained on the ground, and the guy's eyes were extremely saddened. Ran, on the other hand, was outraged.

"Who does Ban think he is?! Just 'ordering' someone to just up and leave! He may be the leader, but that doesn't give him an 'I can be a jerk whenever I want, to whomever I please' pass!" she exclaimed.

Though the comment was a bit blunt, the others had to agree. Their kind, caring leader was no longer kind and caring.

When they had heard the news about Jin leaving, they knew something was wrong with Ban. He wouldn't do that to anyone, or at least, the old Ban wouldn't.

"Do you really want to go?" Yuuya asked quietly.

"Want to? No. Need to? Yes. It doesn't matter what I want to do, compared to what I need to do," Jin answered. He didn't want to leave, in fact. He wanted to stay and try to help his friends, but he knew that, for the time being, he needed to trust them to take care of things while he was gone.

Yuuya tried one last time to get him to stay.

"What the heck are we supposed to do without you here guiding us? I mean, you lead us half the time if not more!"

Jin smiled faintly at that.

"I wasn't leading so much, more like assisting Ban and you all in strategic battle, helping to direct, etc."

"You seemed like a great leader to me," Yuuya muttered defeatedly.

"This is for the best, I guess. Maybe if I give Ban some space, he'll have time to calm down and get his head straight," Jin mused. He then climbed into his private jet and waved farewell.

"I wish you all the best of luck. Farewell for now, for I don't know when or if I'll return. Keep your chins up, and watch out for each other, especially look out for Ban," Jin added, allowing his gaze to wander to the window he knew Ban's room was.

He then gave the signal to his butler/pilot, and they took off.

Everyone stayed on the launch pad until the plane disappeared in the distance. They then headed back in, some to think, others to practice LBX to relieve stress, and others to just talk to each other.

While that was going on, Ban had locked himself up in his room. He was trying to figure out exactly what had happened to him. When he looked out the window to see Jin's plane leaving, he silently thought to himself,

 _'Please don't leave, Jin. I don't know what has gotten into me.'_

 **Thank you for reading! Please review if you'd like or feel free to do whatever else this website allows. PM me if there are any questions, because I'd be happy to answer them!**

 **For all the MOoR fans, I'd like to clear up the fact that I am NOT abandoning MOoR. I'm only going through a few editing procedures on all of the chapters. Still haven't found a beta yet, so I'm taking some advice from a review I received. The plot isn't changing, I'm only cleaning the story up a bit.**

 **Farewell my friends! Please stay with me on this, because I think this might be good! Hope is out!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Encounter

 **Revenge Paid in Full**

 **Hello! Hope is back with the second chapter of Revenge Paid in Full. Man! Last chapter was pretty short. I'm ashamed. Oh well, what's done is done. This will be the first chapter that my OCs will appear in! Well, here it is! Chapter 2!**

 **Aquila Aqua** **: Thank you very much for your kind words! As to what's up with Ban, you'll have to wait and see.**

 **Lucky zetta** **: Thanks for the review! Sorry for the long wait!**

 **Disclaimer:** _ **I own nothing of Danball Senki. Period. Please don't sue.**_

Chapter 2: Encounter

After Jin's grandfather had fallen along with his organization, Jin had inherited the entire fortune as the last descendant, even though it wasn't by blood.

That included being reunited with his old butler that had been there for Jin ever since he had been adopted. The old man was kind and considerate, as any good butler should be, and pretty much raised Jin.

It was nice to have some sense of familiarity in this mess of a world.

Sitting in the private jet that he owned brought back many memories. The first day of school where he "met" Ban was the most prominent. High above the clouds, soaring through the air, it was exhilarating. His butler turned on the com system and alerted him that the destination was approaching.

Country A.

Like he'd be heading half-way around the world when his friend was in trouble. Nope. His destination was a recently created man-made island that was owned by a rich family, in which his group of friends had recently visited to partake in a special showcase tournament.

It hadn't been named yet, but it was located off the coast of Japan. Looking down from above on it, he could tell that the island seemed to be from a different time. Though a privately owned island, the inhabitants were normal people who decided to move here.

As much as Jin didn't want to, he couldn't help but be distracted by the sheer beauty and peace that the island provided. It was a nice change of pace from the busy hustle and bustle that he had always lived in. Shaking his head slightly to clear his mind of such thoughts, Jin refocused on the reason he had come to this area. He needed a quiet, out of the way place to clear his mind and investigate what has been going on from behind the scenes.

It was the way he worked best, after all.

After the plane had landed in the private runway, he instructed his butler to immediately fly to Country A and check out an apartment under his name, just to throw them off his track. After wishing his young master good luck, the servant made his ascent and flew off in the direction of their misdirection.

Jin temporarily rented a small room in a nearby bed and breakfast under the assumed name Justin Kaido (his English dub name ^-^). He didn't have much time to think of anything better.

His hunch began after they had returned from the showcase, as that had been when Ban had shown his first signs of change. It only made sense to come and check on the place where it had seemingly started.

Deciding to go around town to check out a few spots, Jin left his luggage unpacked in the room. There hadn't been too many places that they had visited, but that still left a few that needed to be thoroughly searched.

As he was walking through the streets, mind lost in thought, something caught his attention from the corner of his eye.

There was a small shop called "Daimon Mechanics", and Jin could see through the display window a bunch of kids gathered around something. Though not typically interested in the things most kids are his age, he was on an investigation and needed to check out anything suspicious.

A small bell dinged as he walked through the light green colored door fitted with windows. It wasn't big by most standards, but it had a cozy feel to it. There was a counter with a cash register directly to the left of the entrance. Several shelves were packed with various goods, all being related to mechanics.

A large part of the store seemed to be dedicated to a single product.

LBX.

It was there by the windows that many battle boxes were set up for public use. All of the children he had seen before seemed to be crowded around one specific box, where two kids his age were battling.

The one farthest from him had his face shown to Jin. He was a boy with dark red-brown hair and bright green eyes. He seemed to be having plenty of fun, just enjoying playing his favorite hobby.

Jin hadn't felt like that since before Ban has started acting weird.

The other one with their back to him was a girl. The peculiar thing was, she was sitting in a wheelchair and, even more odd, she had a bunch of bandages covering her eyes. Jin could only see this because the bandages circled around her head.

He walked closer, intrigued by this peculiar appearance. The girl had long, tawny hair that was pulled to the right side of her neck. Her skin was pale, but it complimented her hair color well. She was operating a light blue CCM that had a collection of miniature tool keychains attached.

Her LBX was told a completely different story from her slightly frail appearance.

It resembled Fenrir and Hunter, but looked for more regal. Instead of a slightly hunched stance, it stood proudly, perfectly balanced. It was a deep gray color with blue highlights. The legs were that of a wolf's, but stood gracefully on the small pads. A tail jutted out from the rear, adding to the unit's balance.

It had a shield mounted pridefully on the back, which doubled as a sheath for its sword. Both arms had claws built into the forearm, ready to flip forward and be used. The unit's eyes were gold. On the top of the head was the upper half of a wolf head, going as far as the top jaw. The lower jaw was situated below the eyes of the unit, making it look like a tribal headdress, which separates its appearance from that of the standard wolf-like LBX. The chest had a flat area in the center where a crescent moon was depicted.

It was a magnificent unit, obviously custom made.

On the opposing side was a more soldier-looking LBX. Its main color was a dark gray with purple accents. It also had some gem-like orange coloring. The most notable aspect was the wings on the back, that resembled Odin and Odin Mk2 in a way. It had a helmet with an orange visor and blaster-like looking things on its legs. (If you're curious, look up LBX Orion)

It looked like they were getting ready to start a new round. Sadly, Jin's cover was already blown.

"Hey, is that the Split-Second Killer Emperor?" someone whispered.

"That's too long," another stranger said. "I just call him the Instant-Kill Emperor."

"Either way, that's him, right?"

Murmurs broke out among the gathered audience, causing the once focussed battlers to turn their attention elsewhere from the battlefield. The boy raised an eyebrow when he spotted Jin. His look said that he didn't want to see anyone disrupting his match. Or maybe it was Jin himself.

The girl, however, used her arms to maneuver her wheelchair around, despite her grasp on her CCM. Though not able to see anything, she seemed to be able to understand the situation immediately.

"Excuse me, everyone, but if you wouldn't mind keeping it down. My brother and I are trying to concentrate," she said politely. She bore an apprehensive smile on her face, as though she thought they wouldn't listen.

Begrudgingly, the crowd began to simmer down, but not before many of them had already approached Jin. Jin merely ignored them in favor of paying attention to the battle before him.

The girl swerved back around expertly before readying herself once more. The boy, her brother apparently, did the same. She gently placed odd disks that were about the size of a quarter at each of her temples. They each had blinking lights and complicated-looking wiring.

 **BATTLE START**

"Hunt them down, Orion!" the boy shouted.

"Howl, Lupus!" his sister shouted with equal enthusiasm.

Orion made the first move, using his wings and booster to hover off the ground and charge the wolf LBX. The surprising thing was, however, that Lupus had yet to move.

 _Is something wrong with the mechanics? Maybe the motor's jammed. What's going on?_ Jin thought. It didn't make sense, playing LBX when you couldn't even see the battle. It was mere seconds before Orion made contact with Lupus.

Suddenly, the wolf warrior had vanished. _No, it had jumped at the last possible moment to avoid collision and give her the advantage,_ Jin thought with awe. _But how could she tell when to move her unit? Even if you can see, it's extremely difficult to get the timing just right. Who is she?_

It was all over in a blink of an eye. Lupus had accelerated her descent into landing directly on top of Orion and impaled him using her sword. When that had been drawn, nobody noticed. The girl without sight had won. The crowd went wild.

"Aw man! That was the fifth time straight that she beat you, dude! And you only played five rounds!"

"Here she is! The rise of the Instant-Kill Empress!"

"Yeah! That was totally awesome!" The girl blushed red at what she heard.

"Please, Suzaku was a very worthy opponent. I only got lucky." The boy, Suzaku, slung an arm around his chair-ridden sister.

"Nope, you were obviously the better player. And to think, you created your own LBX! You're phenomenal, Kami!" he praised. She blushed even redder, all the while mumbling things under her breath; something about overbearing brothers. As Jin turned to leave, Suzaku called him out.

"Hey, Mr. Emperor, right? I noticed how your entry delayed our match. How about a battle to make it up?" he offered, green eyes glinting. Jin paused, debating whether he should ignore him, when the girl, Kami, cut in.

"Suzaku, you're always challenging people out of the blue. I mean, you challenged me right after you woke me up! Give the guy a break," she chastised. Some of the guys in the audience, probably Suzaku's friends, began calling out things like:

"You better listen to your mommy, Suzi! We always knew you were mama's little girl!"

"Yeah, dude, or should I say dudette?"

"Man, you must be desperate! Challenging your challenged sister right when she got outta bed? What kinda brother are you?"

"I'd recommend shutting it before I decide to show you what 'Mommy' is capable of. Suzaku is better than any of you oafs, and you all know it. Or need to learn it." An ice cold voice cut through the taunts and teases, making each of the perpetrators go paler than the one calling them out.

The store was suddenly very empty.

Kami sighed, before rolling her way back to where a table was set next to the register. It was low enough for her to work on while in the wheelchair. Her LBX hopped up to stand next to her on the table, and began scanning the room. It froze when it located where Jin was standing, and Kami directed her attention towards him.

"Are you going to come over here not?" she asked. Jin snapped out of his thoughts and made his way to the table. Suzaku also joined them, picking up his broken LBX.

Kami reached under the table to grab a small tool box and proceeded to fix Orion.

"So, what brings a star of Japan like you to this little shop?" she questioned. "It's highly unusual for the Instant-Kill Emperor to even step foot on this island. Last and first time was a few months ago, right?"

Jin's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"How would you know that?"

"Because I'm blind, right?" she assumed what he had been thinking. "Well, obviously I'm psychic and can read minds."

…

"... Look, I'm sorry for making assumptions." Jin apologized. It seemed that he offended her, making her a bit stand-offish and sarcastic. Her entire aura had changed from when she had been battling. Her glare softened. She even let a small smile through.

"It's fine. Most people don't even have the courage to apologize and say they were wrong, so anyone who can pretty much okay in my book." She directed both her and her LBX's attention to the repairing of Orion. "So what brings you to Daimon Mechanics?"

"I was just passing through when I saw the crowd. You were very impressive," he admired. This caused her to blush slightly. "How did you do it?"

"Win?" Jin nodded. "Well, it was pretty simple, really. You see these transmitters?" She pointed to the disks on her temples.

"These allow me to see the battle from my LBX's eyes."

 _To Be Continued…_

* * *

 **Welcome! Here is the long, long,** _ **long**_ **awaited chapter 2! I finally decided on a path I want this story to take! I'm uber happy! Thanks for reading/following/favoriting/reviewing!**

 **Happy Father's Day, everyone!**

 **Also, I have a poll on my profile for those wishing for faster updates. You can vote for your favorite story of mine and the one who is leading is given priority! Go ahead and check out my other stories too, if you'd like.**

 **I hope you like my OCs Kami Daimon and Suzaku Daimon! BTW I didn't mean to use Orion from the game, because I had no clue one existed until I did some research. I was wanting to use the name cuz it's one of my fav constellations, but it turned out to already have an LBX. So I just used the premade one. Lupus is of my own design, so have fun watching her battle!**

 **Well, I guess that's all I wanted to say. Sayonara!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Introduction

 **Hola! How're my readers doing? Good, I hope. Hehe, "hope". Anyways, here's Chapter 3!**

 **Did you notice my new cover? I spent around 2 hours making that on Google Drawings. Do you guys like it? Some of it was cut off, but most of it is visible, at least. Completely original, so don't steal it. It's supposed to look like Lupus's weapons (shield, sword, and battle claws, which are mostly cut off).**

 **dtha77** **:** _ **Thanks! I'm glad you like it.**_

 **Nimblefire** **:** _ **Yeah… funny how that works, huh. Hehe ^.^ Thanks!**_

 **Aquila Aqua** _ **: Thanks!**_

 **Guest** **:** _ **Thanks!...? Does not bad mean good? Or is it more of a meh?**_

 **Thanks for the reviews!**

 **Disclaimer** **: I do not and never will own Danball Senki. I can dream, though.**

Chapter 3: Introduction

Jin was skeptical. He was in contact with some of the most advanced LBX scientists, including the man who created them in the first place, yet he hasn't heard about what the girl in front of him was saying.

"Seeing through your LBX? I'm sorry, but I don't see how I'm supposed to believe that."

"Don't have to believe if you don't wanna. I'm not here to convince the unfaithful."

"This has nothing to do with faith. It's more along the lines of me not trusting a stranger." She just shrugged, which only succeeded in further aggravating the operator of Triton. Not that he showed that, of course.

"Are you going to continue staring at me like an idiot, or do you actually have something you want?" Deciding to let the subject of belief slide for the moment, Jin decided to try gathering information.

"Have you noticed anything different from the time my friends and I arrived until now? Odd behaviors, disappearances, or anything unusual would suffice."

She stopped working long enough to scratch her invisible beard before going back to work. Just as Jin was about to lose his cool, not that he'd admit to it, she began to speak.

"Other than the fact that the number of crazy fans have increased, LBX has grown more popular, and it's gotten both more quiet and loud at the same time, then nothing." Jin discreetly raised his eyebrow at the last part and asked her to evaluate further. "More people have come to the island, but not many people in town are talking anymore. That's all."

This could be a potential lead, but he needed more information. First, he needed to gain the trust of this girl, because she seemed to know more than she was letting on.

"You obviously know me, so may I know your name?" he asked politely.

"What?" she gasped sarcastically. "I'm not famous enough to be known by the ultra-fighter, Jin Kaidou?"

Jin met her gaze, or where it would have been, squarely.

"Kamui Daimon. That's Suzaku Daimon, my cousin. We run this shop, since his dad is off in Country A. Also, on a side note, you don't have to act nice. Honesty is a pretty darn good policy," she advised. "Before you ask, I can tell that your tone is more formal than what you would typically speak, as you have already spoken casually to me."

Though his face remained his typical stoic mask, he was internally surprised. Not many are able to see through a carefully molded facade that has been developed over most of a lifetime. Especially one who's blind.

"You're quite an interesting person, Miss Daimon."

"I hope that ain't an insult. Plus, call me Kami. Not 'cause we're friends or anything, but more along the lines of me being used to that. Miss Daimon sounds so freaking fancy."

"I can assure you, it isn't an insult, Kami," he added her name as an afterthought.

"In that case, you're quite interesting yourself, Jin." They both smiled at each other, Jin's being slight while Kami's was a full blown grin.

"Anything else?" Suzaku suddenly cut in. The redhead hasn't stopped glaring at Jin since he had noticed him.

"I had assumed the two of you were siblings, as the crowd made that clear," Jin pointed out. Kami smiled.

"Actually, my parents his mom died in an accident. His dad, my uncle, decided to take me in as part of the family. Everybody just says we're siblings because of how close we are. We were raised together, after all."

"Mr. Kaidou, if I may talk to you outside," Suzaku asked with fake politeness. Jin raised an eyebrow, but followed him anyways. Kami went back to working on Orion, Lupus staying faithfully by her side as usual.

"I don't like how you're asking so many questions," Suzaku said bluntly after leading Jin to a safe distance from the shop. They were currently in a cafe, sitting in a booth. "Ever heard of privacy?"

"I was merely curious," Jin defended smoothly. "You did ask me if I wanted something, and all I want is information."

"Our life story has nothing to do with you, though, so stay out of it. I don't like strangers taking interest in my sister. I'd like to request that you leave now."

Jin's eyes narrowed.

"Who said that I had taken interest in your _cousin_?" he asked, stressing the last word. This served to further aggravate Suzaku. "And I don't see why you dislike me so much."

"You're Jin Kaidou, correct? It may not seem it, but news from the mainland travels here too, you know. You and your posse are bad news, with unfavorable things following your every step. I don't want my remaining family to be caught up with your crap. So leave us alone."

Jin didn't say anything, but knew that he was correct, bad luck seemed to follow him and his friends many places.

One example would be right now.

But he couldn't back down now, not after he had finally gotten some kind of lead.

For Ban's sake.

"I understand your concerns, I do, but that doesn't change the fact that I still have business here." Suzaku slammed his fists on the table in a huff. He would have stood up, had they not been seated in a booth. His green eyes glinted for a second before turning back to Jin.

"How about a battle? I win, you leave. You win, you can stay and ask all the questions you want. I'll answer them myself, to the best of my ability."

Jin turned this over in his mind for a second before agreeing. This could be a double-edged blade. The two of them set off towards the shop once more. They ignored the sour looks from the workers at the cafe, having left without ordering a single item.

The bell tinkled once more.

"Welcome back, you two. What was that about, eh? Boyish secrets?" was how they were welcomed back.

"Be quiet, Kami. Is Orion ready for battle?" Suzaku asked without skipping a beat.

"Sheesh. Show some appreciation once in awhile, dude," she pouted. She wordlessly handed him the unit.

"We're using one of the battle-boxes."

"Fine, fine. Don't break your LBXs too much. I'm the one stuck fixing them, after all," Kami muttered.

The two boys stood at opposite ends of the battle-box, staring each other down. Lupus hopped over to watch, or more likely, to let Kami watch.

Jin pulled out Triton, his partner that he'd been using for a while. Seeing it again made memories of the past resurface from where he had been attempting to lock them up. At least until they were able to return Ban back to normal.

Suzaku was still holding his recently repaired Orion, eyes full of fire.

 **BATTLE START**

"Hunt them down, Orion!"

"Triton!"

The setting of the battle was the castle format. Good, Jin was used to this.

The two units paused for a moment before engaging in rapid close combat. Triton used his large anchor-like trident/club to fend off Orion's heavy sword. The two's strength was equally matched, causing them to be stuck in a deadlock.

Suddenly, Orion forced Triton's weapon to hook onto his sword and activated his flight capability. They began to soar high in the air, Triton holding on helplessly.

 **ATTACK FUNCTION: OCEAN BLAST**

The LBX king of the seas forced Orion to a stop by encircling the hunter in a giant pocket of water. Manipulating it to swirl in a whirlpool fashion, Triton freed himself and landed squarely on one of the castle walls.

Suzaku gritted his teeth in annoyance. After pushing a few buttons, Orion let the flow take him before blasting away in one engine thrust.

He then moved to dive bomb the opponent below him.

As Triton moved to dodge, the heavy sword came flying out, catching him off guard. The weapon had enough force to push the LBX off the wall, causing it to land hardly on the ground below.

From the dust cloud that had formed above, Orion came rushing out without a single scratch. Triton, on the other hand, had a few deep gashes and some minor dents. Orion had picked his sword up once again and prepared for another dive bomb.

CRASH!

Specks of dirt floated through the area, an after effect of the collision. Out of the cloud came a heavy sword, dispelling the visual obstruction.

The sight cleared to show Orion standing alone in a crater. Triton was nowhere to be seen. The hunter looked around to find his enemy before spotting the club that quickly disappeared behind a wall. Weary of a trap, Orion, approached cautiously. Spotting movement to his side, he immediately took to the sky with his wings.

From his aerial view, he saw Triton swinging his club in a circle, spinning himself in a circle. Abruptly letting it go, it sailed quickly towards the flight-ridden hunter.

With not enough time to dodge, Orion braced himself using his arms as shields.

There was a small explosion at the point of contact, causing a momentary cloud of smoke.

Before it cleared, Orion came hurtling from where he had been hovering moments before. The club had taken out one of his wings, causing his involuntary descent.

Another crash later revealed Orion with several cracks and gashes. Sparks of electricity danced along the injuries. He was now in far worse shape compared to Triton. But one factor remained that gave him an advantage.

He had lost his flight, had many injuries, and yet he still had an advantage.

Orion had a weapon, and Triton did not.

He carefully leveled his sword at the water-manipulator, preparing himself for his final attack to finish his opponent off.

 **ATTACK FUNCTION: NORTH ARROW** (This is my own idea)

The edges of the sword swung out, forming something akin to the shape of a crossbow. Pouring the last bits of power into this final shot, the weapon took on a blue glow. It began sparking with yellow threads of power, not unlike the ones that were currently leaking out of his wounds.

Not backing down, Triton prepared his own attack.

 **ATTACK FUNCTION: RIVER RAGE** (I made it up ^-^)

From Triton's right arm came a steady flow of powerful water. The two attacks were fired and met head on, becoming a stalemate for a short while. Both parties began to pour even more power into each individual attack, causing a massive explosion to occur.

A blinding light engulfed the entire shop, causing the few occupants to freeze in their own actions to look over at the intense climax. Jin and Suzaku were forced to shield their eyes from the sudden burst.

Kami wasn't affected in the least, except for the fact that her jaw was left hanging wide open.

When the glare faded, both units were revealed to have broken over.

"What… was that?" Kami asked, breathless. Neither of the operators knew the answer. The silence was deafening, white noise clouding their ears. In such a suffocating atmosphere, one person spoke.

"What happens when there's a tie?" Suzaku asked, breaking the daze.

* * *

Yuuya paced the lounge in frustration. First their leader goes off his rocker, then his best friend is forced to leave, and now he is by default in charge of the group. Hiro had volunteered, but was too inexperienced. Not to mention he was still upset about his hero.

So Yuuya had taken up the job, as per Jin's request. He sighed.

 _I swear, I'll be getting gray hairs well beyond my years._

Jin would've been a much better temporary leader.

He ran a hand through his long hair, trying to let some of his stress go. Recent events gave him an excruciating headache. Ban had taken to locking himself up in his room, only unlocking it to accept food that had been prepared for him. They didn't want him to starve. Crazy or not, he was still their friend.

He wanted to have something to report to Jin, while at the same time not. He wanted to help his friend, but didn't want Ban's condition to worsen. The balance has already been tipped, and now chaos was ready to rage.

And once it's out, it'll be difficult to contain.

Ban, meanwhile, was sitting in the dark room. Bags were under his eyes, showing how little sleep he gets these days. (If you were wondering, a few days have passed since Jin and Suzaku's battle.)

All he could do was stare at the wall or ceiling, depending on his position.

It wasn't unlike what had happened after Yuusuke Uzaki's death. That thought only served to remind him of his friend that had left.

Back during that time, it had been Jin that had gotten Ban back onto his feet. He had all but abandoned his previous mission and dedication, yet Jin brought him back. Sharing his own background and encouraging him, Jin was truly a great friend and had only gotten better as time went on. Until recent events, that is.

Ban screwed his eyes shut, placing his head in his arms and leaned on his knees. He didn't want to hurt anymore of his friends, not like he had Jin.

If only time could be turned back, perhaps he could stop himself.

But could he really?

 _To Be Continued…_

* * *

 **I told you that the poll decided priority! Thanks to whoever voted, this chapter is dedicated to you! Thanks for reading!**

 **Any questions? Ask if you're confused.**

 **Was the action scene good? This was my first real battle scene (Chapter 2 doesn't count, it was too short). I just tried to describe whatever appeared in my mind, so I hope it turned out okay.**

 **Feel free to do the normal things (Fav, Follow, Review, PM, etc.), and have a good day/night!**

 **~Hope**


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